CHAMPION: Will Blackmon addresses the crowd at Hendricken during his appearance at the school last Thursday.

Will Blackmon, the former Bishop Hendricken star and current member of the recently-crowned Super Bowl champion New York Giants, returned to Hendricken on Thursday to speak to the faculty and students and share his accomplishment with his former high school.

Blackmon, who attended Hendricken from 2002-06 and served as the Giants’ primary punt returner in their 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5, addressed a near-capacity crowd in McNally Gymnasium. He was showered with cheers and chants, and ended the segment by answering questions on stage.

Following that, Blackmon held a press conference and signed autographs for students, before heading up to Providence to receive a key to the city from Mayor Angel Taveras. He, as well as his New York teammates, already received a key to the city of New York following the Giants’ victory parade last Tuesday.

Blackmon, 27, returned from a torn ACL he suffered in the 2009 season while playing for the Green Bay Packers to join the Giants in 2010, and he then re-join the team last November. He appeared in six regular season games at cornerback, registering six tackles. He also returned six punts and two kicks, and he caught the punt prior to the Giants’ game-winning drive in the Super Bowl.

In that Super Bowl, Blackmon returned one kick for four yards and one punt for 10 yards.

A six-year NFL veteran, Blackmon played four seasons for the Packers before playing parts of the last two in New York with the Giants.

Prior to that, he played at Boston College. He was taken in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft, with pick No. 115 overall, by the Packers.

“Every time I achieve something, I want to come back here and share it with everybody here,” Blackmon said about Hendricken at his press conference. “That's why I didn't really give a speech. I come back here all the time when I can, and I make a point to. I appreciate it here so much, because I was able to find myself and my identity in this school. Not so much who I want to be, but who I am and how I can develop as an individual, as a man, and present myself to the world. That happened here."